DGAP-News

VERBIO Vereinigte BioEnergie AG: Powerful confirmation of VERBIO's growth trajectory - yet again the most successful year in the Company's history, and a positive outlook for the financial year 2020/2021 - Seite 3

Investments
Cash outflows for acquisition of property, plant and equipment totalling EUR 68,0 million were made in the financial year 2019/2020 (2018/2019: EUR 61,9 million). Investments were focussed on optimising the technology used at the biodiesel plant in Canada which has been in operation since August 2019 and on the straw biomethane technology which the Group regards as a key technology. The commissioning of straw biomethane plants in India and the USA is planned for 2021, despite delays in construction work due to the coronavirus pandemic.

Changes to production capacity
Annual capacity in the Biomethane segment had increased to 900 gigawatt hours on July 1, 2020 (previous year: 750 gigawatt hours). The increase in the production capacity was due to further improvements in the efficiency of the existing plants.

Dividend and outlook for the financial year 2020/2021
At the annual general meeting to be held on January 29, 2021 the Management Board and the Supervisory Board will make a proposal to the annual general meeting for the payment of a dividend of EUR 0.20 per qualifying share, which is unchanged compared with the previous year (2018/2019: EUR 0.20).

Based on the current level of sales and raw material prices, the planned plant utilization, but without taking into account potential profit and loss impacts with regard to the continued existence of the COVID-19-pandemic, the Management Board expects to achieve an EBITDA in the order of EUR 130 million in the financial year 2020/2021. The Group intends to further invest in capacity expansion and internationalisation in the current financial year. This will be partially financed from the Group's own funds accumulated in prior periods as well as current operating cash flow. At the end of the 2020/2021 financial year, the Management Board expects net financial assets in the order of EUR 50 million.

Detailed information on business developments in the 2019/2020 financial year is provided in the annual report for the financial year 2019/2020. The report, together with the non-financial statement, can be viewed from 9 a.m. on Verbio's website www.verbio.de.

 

Information about VERBIO Vereinigte BioEnergie AG (VERBIO)
VERBIO AG is one of the leading independent bioenergy manufacturers, and is also the only large-scale producer of biodiesel, bioethanol and biomethane in Europe. The Group has approximately 700 employees at its locations in Saxony, Saxony-Anhalt and Brandenburg as well as at its foreign subsidiaries in India, the USA, Canada, Poland and Hungary. VERBIO concentrates on the use of internally developed innovative technologies and efficient energy-saving production processes. VERBIO's biofuels achieve CO₂ savings of up to 90 percent compared to petrol or diesel. The Group's annual production capacity amounts to approximately 660,000 tonnes of biodiesel, 260,000 tonnes of bioethanol and 900 gigawatt hours of biomethane. In addition, VERBIO manufactures biofertiliser and animal feed for agricultural use as well as high-value raw materials for the pharmaceutical, cosmetic and foodstuff industries. With its innovative processes and highly efficient production plants, VERBIO is a technology leader in the biofuels market. The VERBIO share (ISIN DE000A0JL9W6/WKN A0JL9W) has been listed in the prime standard segment of the Frankfurt Stock Exchange since October 2006.